Southern California -- this just in

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday moved toward enacting a complete ban on medical marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated areas of the county.

In a unanimous vote, the supervisors directed county staff to prepare an ordinance banning pot dispensaries. The ordinance would first need to be considered by the Regional Planning Commission and then by the Board of Supervisors, a process that would probably take at least three or four months.

While all five supervisors approved the motion, Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky voiced strong objections. He noted that no legal pot dispensaries currently exist in unincorporated communities, and said existing county rules are sufficient.

Tony Bell, spokesman for Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, who proposed the ban, said the prohibition on pot dispensaries would protect unincorporated neighborhoods from the intrusion of pot dispensaries searching for a home.